Sunday, March 7, 2010

SOMEBODY POINTED OUT that March is Women's History Month. I swear I was not thinking that when I posted about WARRIOR WOMEN - that post grew out of an email exchange with a reader - a mother whose daughter is a West Point grad & a combat veteran.

With that in mind; STORMBRINGER proudly presents a couple of vignettes (is that a female word or what?) that explore the Female Warrior theme:

A FEMALE CAPTAIN BLIGH

US Navy Captain Holly Graf was relieved of command last week and demoted because she berated and assaulted her crew. A Navy inspector general report said that Graf "assaulted subordinates by pushing one, grabbing another and once throwing wadded up paper at another sailor . . . "

STORMBRINGER COMMENT: " . . . throwing wadded up paper . . . " - I guess this is the modern, politically correct version of keelhauling. What an outrage.

"She regularly verbally abused subordinates by publicly berating them, belittling them and using profane language. Graf once ordered a subordinate to stand in a "timeout" in a corner in front of the full watch team, which he complained to investigators was demeaning to him."

STORMBRINGER COMMENT: What? A sailor using profane language? Since when is THAT a crime? As for that "Time Out" scenario; if THAT's abuse, then I belong in Leavenworth for what I've done to quell mutiny and insubordination.

The report also found she used her office for personal gain; asked junior officers to play piano at her private Christmas party and to walk her dogs."

STORMBRINGER COMMENT: Oh, beat me with a wet noodle; this is cruelty on a level I've never seen before.

BOAT RACES

In a cavalier display of panache, Graf once led her guided missile cruiser, the USS Cowpens, on a drag-race with another U.S. warship in the Pacific, the USS John McCain (Cowpens is the one in front).

STORMBRINGER COMMENT: OK here's what she's REALLY being punished for: symbolically calling out John McCain for the limp-wristed RINO he really is. I predict a GREAT future for this Sea-Bitch, as a private security contractor leading maritime operations off the coast of Somalia.

MASS MURDER, OR SELF DEFENSE?

Aileen Wuornos was arrested on January 9, 1991, on an outstanding warrant at The Last Resort, a biker bar in Volusia County. Three days later, Wuornos confessed to multiple murders.

The Last Resort

YOU GO, GIRL!

Turns out Wuornos was a serial killer who killed seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990, while she was working as a prostitute. She claimed the men tried to rape her and she killed them in self-defense. Wuornos was convicted and sentenced to death for six of the murders, and executed via lethal injection on October 9, 2002. Her final words on camera were "Thanks a lot, society, for railroading my ass."

Wuornos was executed by lethal injection on October 9, 2002, the tenth woman in the United States to be executed since the Supreme Court lifted the ban on capital punishment in 1976, and the second woman ever executed in Florida. She declined a last meal and instead was given a cup of coffee. Her final statement before the execution was "Yes, I would just like to say I'm sailing with the Rock, and I'll be back, like Independence Day with Jesus. June 6, like the movie. Big Mother Ship and all, I'll be back, I'll be back."

STORMBRINGER COMMENT:Give me a platoon of women like this Aileen harpy and the Taliban are toast.

8 comments:

Sean, normally I'm 100% on-board with you. Nut Capt Graf is a POS of the highest order. Read some of the Navy blogs that have commentary from enlisted and officers who had the misfortune to serve with her. It's easy to find. The reason she got relieved and charged with cruelty is that she choked a JO to unconsciousness on the bridge. As a good E6, I can appreciate feeling the need to choke the sh** out of a JO from time to time, but then I never acted on it. And I wasn't the HMFIC of a cruiser, either. She treated her people like sh**, didn't give a damn about morale, and from several accounts was completely fubar in the professional skills department. You might ask 'If this is true, how'd she not get court martialled, but instead became the poster child for diversity?'... I'm SURE that it had NOTHING to do with having a father and a sister who were/are both of flag rank. I can't believe that someone with your appreciation for skill and professionalism can glorify this person. Blows the mind.

You squids are busting my balls here . . . but that's OK you are worthy . . . after two "floats" I have nothing but respect for anyone who makes a living out of living inside a machine for months on end, year in, year out . . . I mean it, you are worthy. I take your word for it, what you have to say about Graf - she takes the term "loose cannon" to a whole new level.